BMC emergency medicine
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BMC emergency medicine · Dec 2018
Influence of social characteristics on use of paediatric emergency care in Sweden - a questionnaire based study.
Parental social characteristics influence the use of emergency departments (ED) in the USA, but less is known about paediatric ED care-seeking in countries with national health insurance. This prospective study was designed to evaluate associations between parental care-seeking and social characteristics, with emphasis on impact of non-native origin, at a paediatric ED in Sweden, a European country providing paediatric healthcare free of charge. ⋯ This study confirms more direct and less urgent use of paediatric ED care by parents of non-native origin or with limited abilities in the Swedish language, proposing that parental social characteristics influence paediatric ED care-seeking, also in a country with healthcare free of charge, and that specific needs of these groups should be better met by prehospital medical services.
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BMC emergency medicine · Dec 2018
Observational StudyPoint-of-care ultrasound findings in unselected patients in an emergency department -results from a prospective observational trial.
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) can improve patient management in the emergency department (ED). However, previous studies have focused only on selected groups of patients, such as trauma, shock, dyspnea, or critically ill patients, or patients with an already known diagnosis. Most patients seen in the ED do not match these criteria. We aim to present total prevalence of positive findings when basic POCUS is applied to the broad population of patients seen in an emergency department. ⋯ POCUS revealed positive findings in more than one third of unselected patients in the emergency department. The study presents the findings and distribution among categories of chief complaints. Future investigations are necessary to elucidate the implication of the findings.
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To examine the public's level of knowledge and expectations of Emergency Medicine (EM) in Beirut, Lebanon. ⋯ There is poor recognition of the role of the EM physician and the dynamics of the ED among the Lebanese population. Awareness campaigns targeted to improve understanding may help align expectations with the reality of the practice of EM.